Gwen's New Beginning
by moonytheloony
Summary: Gwen moves to the Forget-Me-Not Valley expecting to be living the idyllic farm life. However, she is chosen by the Harvest Princess to save the missing Harvest Goddess and Harvest Sprites.
1. Chapter 1 Gwen's New Beginning

I don't own Harvest Moon, blah blah blah.....

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Gwen yawned as she ate her Lucky Charms. She stared blearily at the newspaper, shoving little marshmallow rainbows in her mouth. Her eyes scanned the Wanted Ads, looking for a decent job.

"WANTED! Model!"

"WANTED! Veterinarian!"

Her puppy, Sirius, nudged her leg with his wet nose, distracting her so her kitten, Ichigo, could steal the page.

"Hey! Ichigo!" Gwen laughed. "Eh?" There was a large ad on the other page.

"WANTED! Caretaker of the grounds of Forget-Me-Not Valley," she read. "Free Farm. Call #^-&%^-0#* for details."

"Forget-Me-Not Valley. That sounds cute," she said. Suddenly, she had a vision of herself skipping through meadows, wearing adorable overalls and holding a basket full of herbs and beautiful wildflowers.

She picked up the phone.

_-Two weeks later-_

Gwen put all her clothes—and her three new pairs of overalls—in the dresser. After a moment of thought, she put on a long-sleeved red-checked shirt and the blue pair of overalls.

"Wow, these are actually really comfortable," she said with surprise. Ichigo rubbed against her leg and purred in agreement.

She turned around when she heard a knock at the door. "Come in!" she yelled.

A fat man in a red suit opened the door. "Miss Guinevere?"

Gwen smiled widely. "That's me!" She shut the dresser drawers and walked over to him.

He giggled like the Pillsbury dough boy. She wondered why he was laughing. "I'm Thomas, the mayor of Mineral Town! But I'm also the shipping person here in the Forget-Me-Not Valley."

"I see," Gwen said, not really getting any of this at all.

He giggled again. "Just put your produce in the shipping bins or in your horse's saddlebags and I'll pick it all up from the main shipping bin at 5:00 p.m. sharp!"

"How does it all get into the main shipping bin?"

"Magic," Thomas said mysteriously. "Harvest magic."

Gwen stared at him. Magic? "Er...right."

"Anyway!" he said, switching from mysterious to cheerful so fast it made Gwen's head hurt. "I'll see you tonight at five o'clock sharp!" He whistled a tune as he walked out. Gwen stared after him, bemused.

"Kinda a weirdo, isn't he?" said a voice behind her.

Gwen spun around with a gasp. A girl about her own age was suspended in the air. Well, not suspended, really. She had white wings that fluttered very quickly. A pointed teal rasta cap with a yellow puffball at the top covered most of her short auburn hair. Her green eyes were shrewd and calculating under raised eyebrows. She wore an odd outfit consisting of a dark green hoodie with primary stripes, a long leather vest with teal buttons marching down the sides, brown cargo shorts, a pink belt with a skull buckle, an orange sweatband with a blue water drop on her wrist, and rainbow-striped combat boots. The ensemble made Gwen's eyes hurt.

"Who are you?" Gwen asked.

"I'm the Harvest Princess." Gwen's face was blank. The girl rolled her eyes. "Have you ever heard of the Harvest King and the Harvest Goddess?" When Gwen shook her head, the girl sighed. "We have a lot of work to do."

She flew over to the bed and settled on it, Indian style. "Okay. So—sit! I can't talk with you hovering over me like that!"

"O-okay!" Gwen plopped herself down in front of the bed. She felt some serious Kindergarten déjà vu coming on.

"So, as I was saying"—she shot Gwen a look—"I'm the Harvest Princess. I, along with the Harvest King and the Harvest Goddess, help maintain harvestual harmony in Mineral Town and the Forget-Me-Not Valley, amongst other places."

"Is harvestual even a word?"

"Shut up! I'm the teacher right now, not you!"

"R-right!"

"So, _anyway_"—another nasty look—"we help plants grow and stuff. Oh, and we also order farmers around and occasionally marry them if they give us enough good gifts."

"You're married?"

"No! But that's beside the point! So—"

"Are the other two married?"

"Yes. Now—"

"To who?"

"Does it _matter_?" the Harvest Princess shrieked. "I'm trying to explain the detailed infrastructure of the farming world as we know it! Now shut up and stop asking questions!"

Gwen nodded.

"Good! So, we don't do this all by ourselves, of course. The Harvest Goddess can't get her divine hands dirty, and the Harvest King is too much of a prat to do anything himself. So, instead, they get the Harvest Sprites and me to do their dirty work. Yes, we are not all that creative. The sprites take care of the livestock and the crops while I supervise. A couple of them also run a casino. And there's one baby. He's Pink."

She took a breath. "But there's one problem. The Harvest Goddess and the Harvest King don't exactly like each other, and since the Harvest Sprites worship the ground the Harvest Goddess walks on, the Harvest King doesn't exactly like them, either." Gwen raised her hand. The Harvest Princess lifted an eyebrow. "Question?"

"Where do you fit into all this?" asked Gwen.

The Harvest Princess rolled her eyes. "They both boss me around because I'm youngest. The Harvest Sprites like anyone who gives them colored grass in their favorite color, and I give them plenty of that. Makes them work harder." She thought for a second, and then said, "But I am friends with the Witch Princess. So I don't think that increases their fondness at all. The Witch Princess is the one who messes up crops and makes livestock sick and breaks apart lovers. She's pretty cool.

"But anyway. Back to the problem. You see, yesterday the Harvest Goddess and the Harvest King got in a big fight about who was younger and more attractive. The Harvest King got so riled up that he _accidentally_ sent the Harvest Goddess and all her Harvest Sprites to some other world. It's up to you to get them back. I'm here to be your guide and support system."

"Ah," said Gwen. She felt a little overwhelmed, but she thought she could handle it. "How do I save the Harvest Goddess and all the sprites?"

The Harvest Princess inspected her nails for dirt. "Farm. There's 101 Harvest Sprites, and each of them is saved in a different way. Once you save sixty, the Harvest Goddess comes back." The Harvest Princess glared at Gwen. "And don't even _think_ about guys until then! You have too much work to do! Do you understand?"

"Yes." Gwen nodded for emphasis.

"Good. I'll give you today to meet the townspeople and find your way around town, but tomorrow the work begins! I'll see you at six o'clock! _Ciao_!" She disappeared with a snap of her fingers.

Gwen stared at the place where the Harvest Princess had sat. She felt dazed. The whole thing seemed so surreal! She forced herself to stand up. She only had today to meet the townspeople and get used to Forget-Me-Not Valley. She had to make the best of it.

After cuddling with Ichigo and Sirius, she knocked on the door of the house next to hers on the farm. A grizzled old man answered.

"You must be Guinevere," he said gruffly. "The new farmer. Welcome to Forget-Me-Not Valley. I'm Takakura."

"Hello, Takakura. You can call me Gwen."

The old man surveyed her with shrewd eyes. "Just tell me if you have any questions." He bowed and left.

Gwen leaned out the doorway. "Anyone else?" she muttered. No one else seemed to be coming, so she put Sirius and Ichigo outside and left the farm to explore.

The Forget-Me-Not Valley was an adorable town. Gwen admired the blossoming trees and the clear blue sky. The river meandered through the town like a lazy silver ribbon. Gwen strolled down the path. On an impulse, she went north. Blue lanterns dotted the path that led to a still pool. It was beautiful but lonely somehow.

The Harvest Princess appeared beside her. "That's where the Harvest Goddess usually hangs out. When she was here, there always seemed to be Harvest Sprites climbing all over everything. This whole clearing would have a calming, nostalgic feeling." Her face hardened. "The Harvest King's an idiot," she muttered so quietly Gwen almost didn't hear her.

"So there's no sprites left at all?" whispered Gwen.

"Well, there's Guts."

"Guts?"

The Harvest Princess nodded and walked over to the huge tree beside the pond. "This is the Harvest Sprites' base. If you ever need one, he'll be here." She pushed open the door and yelled, "Yo! Guts! You here?"

There was a crash, a thump, and an "Ouch!" before a small, rotund, humanoid creature with pointy ears and wearing a beanie and round sunglasses appeared above the short counter. "Harvest Princess!" squeaked Guts. "Have you rescued any of the sprites yet?"

"No, I'm not a farmer," the Harvest Princess retorted. "But I found you one. Gwen, Guts; Guts, Gwen."

"Hello," Gwen and Guts said at the same time.

"Please save the rest of the Harvest Sprites! I am so lonely here by myself! All I have is the Television Sprites, and they are all too busy!" begged Guts.

Gwen nodded, a determined look on her face. "I will save all the Harvest Sprites as soon as possible. Don't worry, Guts."

"Thank you very much," Guts said sincerely. He bowed to both of them. "Harvest Princess, Gwen."

"Later, Guts."

The Harvest Princes led Gwen outside. She turned to face the blonde girl. "When you're meeting the villager, stop by the stove outside the Inner Inn, the fountain outside Romana's mansion, and the well outside the Blue Bar. While you're at the bar, stop for a drink. I'll meet you there at 10 p.m."

"Ah...okay."

The Harvest Princess disappeared again, leaving Gwen all by herself. Well, not totally by herself.

A little blonde boy with a Band-Aid on his cheek was staring at her. "Who were you talking to, Lady?" he asked in a loud, brash voice.

_Ah! He saw me talking to her!_ "Erm, this, erm, tree!" she said hurriedly, laughing nervously and rubbing her head.

The boy gave her a weird look. "Riiiight.... I'm Hugh."

"I'm Gwen. It's very nice to meet you, Hugh," she said politely.

"Why are you so formal? It's kinda funny!" He laughed loudly. "Whatever! You're weird, Lady!" He walked away and was confronted by a little girl with brown pigtails.

"Kate!" he growled.

"Let's play a game to see who's smarter, Hugh. If you lose, I'm not going to play with you because I don't play with stupid losers," Kate said.

"Okay!" yelled Hugh.

Gwen snuck around them and returned to the main part of town. She saw the Inner Inn and ran over there. She hopped the fence and looked inside the stove. There was a flash, and a mustachioed Harvest Sprite appeared.

"Thank you for saving me, Gwen! I'm Tep, and I'll help you however possible! But please, save the other Harvest Sprites!" he said.

"But—"

There was another flash of light, and he disappeared.

"One down, one hundred more to go," she muttered.

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This was mostly the explaining chapter since my story is a little different than the normal Harvest Moon...what with the Harvest Princess and all.... Please review! I want to know your honest opinion! And I'll add more as soon as possible....


	2. Chapter 2 The Fateful Meeting

Gwen collapsed onto her bed, exhausted. The Harvest Princess had pushed her to her limits, making her chop wood, smash rocks, eat all the Orange Grass she could find, and ship everything that wasn't nailed down. She had even made Gwen drink fifty glasses of water in one night at the Blue Bar! At least she had saved almost fifteen Harvest Sprites, and it was only Thursday of her first week. She smiled at the thought of the little sprites giggling and thanking her and saying weird things. They were so cute!

Sirius whined and scratched on the door. He looked over at her with his insistent puppy eyes. She moaned and walked over to him. She picked him up and scratched him behind his ears. "What is it, Sirius?"

She heard a thump and a giggle outside, and Sirius growled. Gwen set Sirius down and picked up her hammer. She snuck out the door and peered out into the darkness. What if it was the Phantom Thief? He wouldn't steal anything from her if she had anything to say about it! She heard voices behind the house and crept along the shadow of the wall.

"Sh! What if that old man hears us?"

"Nah, he's fast asleep."

"Are you sure no one lives here? Look at these turnips."

"No one lived here the last time I was here."

_My turnips!_ Gwen sprinted toward the two shadow figures yelling, "Get away from my turnips!"

"You said nobody lived here!"

"Apparently they moved here since last Thursday!"

Gwen chased them off her farm. She threatened to hit them with her hammer, and they ran even faster. The smaller figure tripped, and the taller one said, "Mary!"

_Mary. Now I know a name._ Gwen stood on the threshold of her farm and yelled, "Don't ever come back, or I'll beat you with my hammer!" She glared at them until she couldn't see them anymore.

"I need to upgrade my hammer," she sighed. She turned to walk back to her house and collapsed, unconscious.

It was a hot spring day, almost hot enough to be summer, and since Gray was working in the smithy, he was twice as hot. He had taken off his jacket and his shirt, so he was only wearing his white wife-beater. It was soaked with sweat.

"GRAY!" yelled his Grandpa Saibara. "ARE YOU DONE YET?"

"Almost! I just gotta finish this gold sickle!" he shouted back. He banged the dents out of the metal head of the sickle and dropped it in a barrel of water. After most of the steam had gone away, he took a pair of tongs and lifted the head out of the water. He gently laid it on a leather cloth on one of the tables.

"GRAY! THE PHONE!"

"I'll get it, Gramps!"

Gray wiped his hands off on a towel and picked up the phone. "Welcome to Saibara the Blacksmith's. Strong, fine tools guaranteed. This is Gray; how may I help you?"

"Hey, Gray. This is Gwen. Um, can you upgrade my hammer to Mystrile?"

Gray paused. He could have sworn he'd heard that voice before. "Hey, what city do you live in?"

"Forget-Me-Not Valley."

"Do I know you?"

"Um, I don't think so. I just moved into that old farm this week, so—"

It was her! It was that girl who beat the crap out of him and Mary with her hammer last night! It probably had their blood on it still or something. Of course, she never actually _hit_ him or Mary; she had always missed, but the intent was still there!

"Your business is not accepted here," he said flatly.

"But—"

He slammed down the phone. He stared at it like it was a venomous snake about to bite him.

"GRAY!" bellowed Grandpa. "DID YOU JUST HANG UP ON A CUSTOMER? A _PAYING_ _CUSTOMER_?"

"She just wanted me to upgrade her hammer so she could hit me harder with it!" he said.

Grandpa colored in anger. "GRAY! YOU CALL THAT _PAYING CUSTOMER_ BACK RIGHT NOW OR I AM NOT GOING TO LET YOU LEAVE UNTIL EIGHT TONIGHT!"

The phone started to ring. Both their heads whipped around to look at it. They glared at each other. Finally, Gray's arm shot out and he picked up the phone.

"Welcome to—"

"Gray?"

Gray almost dropped the phone. It was that girl again! "Oh. You. What do you want?"

"Um, I kind of wanted to get my hammer upgraded, and I was wondering why you hung up on me."

She sounded genuinely confused! "Well, how much experience do you have?"

"Four hundred percent."

"Do you have the ore?"

"Yes."

"Okay. I'll pick it up tomorrow."

"Thanks! See you then!"

Gray hung up the phone. He scowled at Grandpa. "Happy now?"

Gwen stared at the phone. Why had he hung up on her the first time? She didn't even know him; although his voice did sound vaguely familiar....She shrugged.

The Harvest Princess appeared behind her. "Come on, Gwen, let's go!"

Gwen sighed and hung up the phone. Time for more backbreaking work.

The next morning, Gwen was putting her green overalls on when the doorbell rang.

"Hold on!" she called. She snapped the last snap and was braiding her hair as she opened the door.

A tall young man stood there. He was dressed in a khaki work suit that was covered in pockets. His blue UMA hat covered his dark blonde hair and put his brooding face in shadow. When he looked at her, she noticed his eyes were a brilliant sapphire blue. He was the handsomest boy Gwen had ever seen.

"Hello," she said. "How may I help you?"

Annoyance flickered across his face. "I'm here to take your hammer."

"Oh! You must be Gray! Hold on a second; let me get it." She ran inside and opened the tool box. She stared in it for a moment, trying to get her composure back. She was sure her face was pink.

"You do realize your hammer is hanging from your rucksack," Gray said.

Gwen blushed. She ran and got it from her rucksack and handed it to him along with the shiny blue Mystrile that matched his eyes exactly. He put the ore in one of his pockets. He looked her over and raised his eyebrows.

"You don't look strong enough to swing a Mystrile hammer," he said. He looked her over once more and then walked off.

_Don't let him get away!_ part of her shrieked. _Say something!_ "Thank you!" she called after him. He ignored her.

She sat down on the steps of her house. Why was he being such a brat to her? She hadn't done anything to him! She shrugged, sighed, and picked up her watering can to go water her precious turnips.


	3. Mystrile, Mermaids, and Moonlit Madness

The last Thursday of Spring dawned rainy and gray. Ominous clouds obscured the sun, but Gwen wasn't sad. Rather, she was happy. Rain meant she didn't have to water her turnips. She could spend more time on other things, like—

"Chopping wood and breaking stones. You still haven't rescued all the Lumber Team Harvest Sprites!" said the Harvest Princess.

Gwen moaned. "But I wanted to talk to Daryll today! He said he had something to show me." She widened her sky blue eyes. "_Please_, Harvest Princess? I promise to work extra hard later!"

The Harvest Princess narrowed her eyes. She opened her mouth to refuse and made the mistake of looking at Gwen's face. She sighed huffily. "Fine. But I want you reporting for duty at three o'clock sharp! Meet me at the mines."

"Thanks!" Gwen gave her a quick hug, which made the Harvest Princess scowl, before sprinting away.

The Harvest Princess scowled at the sky. I had stopped raining and became a beautiful sunny day.

"I hate Spring!" she griped. She stomped off to the Sprite Tree to battle Hops in a game of Poker.

Gwen smiled up at the sun. She was glad it had come out now that her turnips were watered. She climbed the small hill to get to Daryll's door, and she rang the doorbell. Daryll opened the door a crack, so she could only see one bloodshot eye. Gwen beamed at him. "Hello, Dar—"

He grabbed her arm and pulled her into the house. His hair seemed even more wild than usual. "What am I about to show you is top secret!" he whispered urgently. Gwen nodded, her eyes wide. He jerked his head and scuttled over to the large steel trapdoor in the floor. He opened it and climbed down the ladder. Gwen followed, her heart thumping with excitement. What could possibly be down there?

When they were both on the floor, he led her around the corner to a large, lit room that seemed like a cross between a bathroom and a kitchen. On one side, there was a refrigerator, counters, cabinets, and a stove, and on the other was a large bathtub filled to the brim with water. A girl sat in the tub and stared at Gwen.

Gwen stared back. The girl was the cutest thing Gwen had ever seen! She had short, shoulder-length sea-green hair that was held back from her face by two pink seashells. Her large purple eyes seemed to fill up her pale face. Her only clothing was a blue sash tied around her chest. From the waist down, she was a purple fish.

"A mermaid!" gasped Gwen.

Daryll nodded. "I found her on th beach about a month ago. She was hurt, and I've been nursing her back to health."

The mermaid smiled sweetly. "Hello," she said in a musical voice. "I'm Leia. What's your name?"

"Gwen," said Gwen. She walked over and knelt beside the tub. Mermaid and farmer studied each other for a moment, and then Gwen pulled a small fish out of her rucksack.

"Sorry it's so small. I only have a regular fishing rod," she apologized.

Leia laughed delightedly. "Thank you, Gwen! I'll have it with my dinner tonight." She cocked her head. "Daryll told me you were a farmer. What is your farm like?"

Gwen and Leia talked for almost three hours. Gwen looked at her wwatch and noticed it was almost two o'clock.

"Leia, I have to go work. It was very nice talking to you."

Leia's smile crumbled. "Will you come back tomorrow?"

Gwen smiled. "Of course! I'll bring more fish."

They exchanged good-byes, and Daryll escorted Gwen upstairs. They were silent until he closed the trapdoor.

"Thanks for talking to her. She was lonely," he said quietly.

"No problem. Thanks for letting me meet her. I'll see you tomorrow, Daryll."

"Good-bye, Gwen."

Daryll watched her walk away and then went back downstairs to grill Leia's fish.

At three o'clock exactly, Gwen set foot in the mines. The Harvest Princess wasn't there yet, so she went to talk to Flora.

"Hey, Flora! How's it going?" she said cheerfully.

Flora looked at her mournfully through her square spectacles. "Good. The dig's going very well." She blinked once. "Gray's a big help."

"Gray?" Gwen squeaked. He couldn't be here!

Flora nodded and pointed. "He's over there, if you want to meet him."

Carter came bouncing up. For some reason, he was always excited to see Gwen. "Oh, Gwen, you haven't met Gray yet?"

"Actually, I ha—"

"HEY, GRAY! There's someone I want you to meet!"

Gray sighed heavily. What did that crazy man want now? He turned away from the wall he was studying and reluctantly walked over to Flora and Carter.

"What?" he said before seeing _her_. He stiffened.

"Hello, Gray," Gwen said weakly. He noticed the hammer in her hand and suppressed a shudder.

"Gwen," he said coolly.

She bit her lip in what would have been a cute way if he hadn't known what she was really like. "Look, Gray, I'm really sorry for whatever I did to you, and I know this won't make up for it, but I want you to have it anyway." She pulled a piece of Mystrile out of her rucksack and held it out to him.

Gray took it from her hand, marveling at the size and purity of the stone. It seemed to be a solid chunk of pure Mystrile. She would have had to go to the bottom of the mine for something like this. He knew about the demon farm animals down there. It took guts, time, and strength to venture that deep.

He looked up at her from underneath the brim of his cap.

Gwen held her breath. She didn't want Gray to be mad at her for any reason. He had just stared at the Mystrile, and then looked at her. Was it not a good enough gift? She had only assumed that he liked things like that. Was she wrong? Did he hate it and, by association, her? Gwen didn't think she could handle it if he hated her.

He pulled on the brim of his cap. "Sorry about your turnips," he muttered. His amazing eyes met hers for a fleeting instant, and then he was back to staring at the wall.

"Turnips?" said Flora.

Carter's eyes gleamed. "Do you grow yams?"

Gwen jumped. She had forgotten they were there. "Er, no. Not until Autumn, anyway. I have to go. See you later." She laughed a little awkwardly and then fled from the mines.

She say the Harvest Princess hovering right outside. She seemed even more scowly than usual.

"Where were you?" she snapped. "I've been waiting here for nearly thirty seconds!"

"Sorry. I ran into someone while I was inside waiting for you," Gwen said with no malice whatsoever.

The Harvest Princess slouched sheepishly. "Geez, sorry. I got a little into the poker tournament with Hops."

"I understand," Gwen said with a smile.

"Mmhmm. Anyway, to work! Our goal is a combined one hundred sticks and stones!" The Harvest Princess had a manic gleam in her eye.

Gwen sighed and got to work.

It was nearly eleven when she felt herself getting woozy. She sat on one of the stumps.

"I don't feel so good," she said tiredly.

The Harvest Princess fluttered down. Her face was concerned as she felt Gwen's forehead. "You don't look too good. We should get you home."

"Y-yeah." Gwen stumbled to her feet. She took a step and collapsed, unconscious.

The Harvest Princess' eyes went wide. "Gwen?" she whispered. She stared at her fallen friend, completely at a loss for what to do.

"Do you need help?"

The Harvest Princess made her wings disappear and spun around to face the voice it was a young man, but he had silver hair. He had narrow eyes that glittered gold. The Harvest Princess was used to some pretty weird things, but his fashion sense seemed a little extreme. He wore a hideous cheetah-print sweater-thing.

"Deities above!" the Harvest Princess murmured, eyeing his shirt.

He smiled lazily. "I'll take that as a yes." He strode over and picked up Gwen easily, as if she was a rag doll. "Where do you want me to take her?"

"Er...." In the name of all things toasted, that shirt was _hideous!_ "Foggy Farm."

He nodded and strode off purposefully.

She was so absorbed in his shirt that she almost didn't notice he was walking off in the totally wrong direction.

"Hey, you're going the wrong way."

He stopped, turned around, and waked the other way. The Harvest Princess followed him. She notified him when he walked past the entrance to the farm and stopped him from going into Takakura's house and the stable.

Finally, the strange man laid Gwen down on her bed. The Harvest Princess felt a sense of relief. What was that saying about a blind man leading another blind man?

"Thanks," she said quietly after she had steered him to the entrance of Foggy Farm.

He bowed with a flourish. "I am Skye. What is your name, beautiful?"

"Harve—" She stopped herself. What kind of human had the name "Harvest Princess?"

"Harvey. A beautiful, if odd, name. it suits you."

"Gee, thanks for the excellent compliment."

He kissed her hand. "Anytime, Princess." She stiffened, but he didn't seem to notice. "If you ever want to see me, I'll be at the Goddess Pond at midnight whenever you can see the moon." He bowed again. "Until we meet again, Princess Harvey." With those dramatic words, he left.

"Princess Harvey?" the Harvest Princess whispered with horror. She vowed to keep this from the Harvest Sprites, Goddess, and King.

She sighed and disappeared.


End file.
